Getting/Maintaining a PROC
* Remind the player what a PROC is, direct to PROC and Powerful Rampage, Of Course pages to describe how to get it. Best Ways to Start a PROC Group Takedowns * Difficulty: easiest (for someone) * Dwarves can work together to take down single monsters in group combat. Two or three swords can cause more damage either a single or a group of monsters much quicker than a single sword. While it is the quickest way to start a PROC, only one dwarf among the group will get the first PROC, and the dwarf may kill the rest of the monsters before any other member of the group can get a PROC. A good strategy for a team of dwarves to start PROCing is to have one dwarf act as "bait" for AI zombies and drive themselves into a corner. Other dwarves can then be free to attack the group at minimum risk for a PROC. The key to this strategy is that once a dwarf starts a PROC, they must resist the temptation to kill the rest of the weakened group: they should seek out other targets and if they must, then kill a zombie in the group to keep at PROC rolling. Using this strategy, a group of dwarves can all begin PROCing to either kill or to combat repair safely. Juggle an AI Zombie * Difficulty: very easy (with practice) * Known as "juggling", this is done by simply keeping an AI zombie back and hitting it enough times to receive a PROC. An AI zombie is programmed to run at a targeted dwarf, occasionally switching targets but never truly "running away". Every hit in the game, whether from a player dwarf, player monster, or an AI, causes a knockback effect. Juggling takes advantage of both the AI programming and the knockback effect: the dwarf hits the zombie, it is knocked away, the programmed zombie continues to run at the dwarf, gets hit back again, and so on. It is possible to juggle a single AI zombie, or even as many as three, for a relatively easy PROC with minimum risk to the dwarf. After a bit of training, this method of starting a PROC is usually preferred over all others. * Be aware of the battle situation while trying to start a PROC in this manner as when there is one AI zombie, there are bound to be more incoming. Kill a Player Rat * Difficulty: easy * Player rats spawn with one heart. They are always a two hit kill (regardless of having only one heart), and are usually targeted by most veteran dwarves. Rats are sometimes difficult to see, and are even worse when among the AI controlled rats spawned by destruction creepers and broodmothers. The easiest way to distinguish between player rats and AI rats is looking for straight line run patterns (AI rats tend to wander around aimlessly unless targeting something) or getting close enough to see a player name tag (which would be Rat_ in red.) Keep in mind that there is a player behind the rat and it may try to get away from dwarf or lead it into an ambush. It is also important to remember that a rat can eat your torches and get 50 mana for each one (instead of the usual five), so these should often be a priority target. Kill a Mispositioned Skeleton * Difficulty: easy, but requires luck * Skeletons have less health and armor than other mobs, and can be killed much more easily than most other monsters, allowing for an easy PROC in the right conditions. If a skeleton has overextended, is knocked down by a bow shot or walls crumbling, or is oblivious to what is going on nearby, it is easy to take them by surprise and kill them. Be aware that a good skeleton will try to get away, and may quickly fire an arrow to knock a dwarf back or inflict a status effect in order to facilitate their escape. Kill an AI Rat * Difficulty: easy to moderate * AI rats can easily be used to start a PROC, provided the dwarf knows the quirks about them. They can always be killed in 4 or less hit, and often stand still. However, they can randomly disappear (it usually has to do with broodmothers spawning rats; there is a limit) which can make them mildly difficult to get PROCs with, alongside the fact that they move quickly and very randomly. Unlike AI zombies, AI rats tend to try to stand on the exact same spot as a dwarf, and their small hitbox can make them difficult to hit. The easiest method to take advantage of AI rats is for the dwarf to back into a corner and look straight down. A rat may be under the dwarf's feet, and the dwarf should be able to hit the rat without pointless hitting of zombies. Even if the rat is knocked away, chances are it will come back and stand under the dwarf again. Note: As of the Summer Update, AI rats no longer spawn Kill a Player Spiderling * Difficulty: moderate * Spiderlings are fast moving, have a powerful melee attack, and a long duration poison but only spawn with 3 hearts of health, making them very vulnerable to melee attacks. Similarly to a player rat, remember that there is a player behind the monster who may be using strategies to lure dwarves into ambushes. Spiderlings are generally more difficult to PROC than rats due to spiderlings running faster and jumping slightly higher than a dwarf, making them slightly more evasive than a player rat, though they are easier to spot. It is also important to remember that any spiderlings that go uncontested can go on to wreak havoc on halls or walls, quickly melting them away. How to Best Maintain a PROC The AI Roll * AI zombies tend to swarm towards dwarves, and the larger the group of dwarves, the more AI zombies will swarm. If a dwarf stays with a group and manages to start a PROC, chances are that there will be plenty of AI zombies incoming to help roll a PROC. * Conversely, there are situations where it may be advantageous to move away from the dwarven group (towards monster spawn) in order to roll a PROC longer. AI zombies with no visible target will stand still for a brief time before despawning. However, if a dwarf comes into range of those AI zombies, those AI zombies will swarm that dwarf allowing for a longer PROC. Avoid Knockback Situations * Knockback is one of the great enemies of a PROC. Skeletons can fire arrows at a dwarf that can knock the dwarf back from monsters, not to mention possibly inflicting slowness on dwarves. Creepers can blast a dwarf so far away from the action that the dwarf's PROC will run out and possibly leave them in darkness with plenty of monsters bearing down on them. Try to target incoming creepers as a priority while PROCing and only charge skeletons if there are plenty of other monsters blocking the skeleton's arrows. * When a creeper does blow you away mid-proc, it will often blow all the AI zombies around you along a similar trajectory. Use this to your advantage - while midair seek out zombies that were blown along with you, and kill them while you're in the air to refresh your proc timer. This is a lot easier indoors where plenty of AI zombies will be blown into the same corner as you. Kill them as you fall down to avoid losing your proc by the time you land. Looking Around and Behind for AI Zombie Trains Following Player * A common oversight that many dwarves make is not looking behind them for AI zombies that may be following the dwarf. Try to remember to look all around for AI zombies that may be following a PROCing dwarf; it may be the simplest way to maintain a PROC. Passage Entrance / PROC Tunnel * Many younger dwarves may wonder why the internal keep defenses tend to be long, thin tunnels instead of mazes, walls, or other structures. The reason behind that thinking is that the dwarves greatest defense under a roof is a PROC. If the monster's only choice to enter a keep is through a tunnel, the monsters (especially AI zombies) will cluster together in one spot to try to enter the keep (except for those who may try to dig around or blow up the tunnel). A PROC will demolish that group very quickly, and the use of tunnels and PROCing at the entrance of the tunnels will allow several dwarves to roll a PROC for defense and others to fall back and repair to PROC again. This defense has been proven to be extremely effective and should be taken advantage of. * PROC tunnels themselves are also excellent places to start a PROC. Monsters will be bottle-necked with no room to maneuver and both AI and player monsters can be contained in a corner to allow for an easy PROC. Since the tunnels are usually straight (with a few curves to stop skeletons from shooting the entire length of the tunnel), a PROC can be rolled very easily with minimum confusion from the turns of a maze. * See Inner Keep Defense for more information about PROC halls and general inner keep defenses. PROC Timing for Extension * If a dwarf's armor is in good shape and the monster pickings seem to be very slim, it is possible to extend the duration of a PROC by simply only attacking one monster at a time and keeping other monsters alive. While this is costly to armor, it can be useful if there is a call of incoming special monsters and the dwarf is on the front lines. At the cost of a bit of durability from AI zombies attacking, the dwarf can keep one or two AI zombies alive thus extending their PROC long enough for the group of special monsters (or a new swarm of AI zombies) to approach. This can also be useful for advancing or retreating while keeping a PROC alive. Avoid Tunnel Vision * Sometimes, a particular monster is simply asking to be killed, or there is a special monster close by that when killed will put the dwarf's name in chat. Be wary of getting tunnel vision with these monsters: if a dwarf if chasing a single monster and ignoring all others, it is possible for that monster to dodge the dwarf long enough for the dwarf's PROC to end. This is also possible with creepers as when they light their fuse, their movement speed increases to the same speed as a PROCing dwarf, allowing them to dodge a dwarf fairly easily and blasting the dwarf away. General Tips About PROCing Overextending * One of the most common causes of death in DvZ is over-extending during a PROC. Over-extension can happen in multiple ways including: ** Riding armor to the point of a piece breaking, which slows the dwarf down, makes the dwarf unable to gain momentum hearts, and reduces the dwarf's mana regeneration to nine points per five seconds. Death usually follows pretty quickly unless that dwarf is lucky enough to get time to repair or carries a Wiggly Wrench. ** Getting so far away from other dwarves that monsters notice and start focusing that dwarf. A single creeper could blast an overextended dwarf into a dangerous situation that could spell the dwarf's doom as soon as the PROC ends. ** A PROC can end at any time due to lack of monsters or getting knocked around too much. If a PROC ends in darkness or too far away from other dwarves, the retreat can cost the dwarf its life. * Overall, try to stay near other dwarves so that they can help cover a retreat once a PROC ends, and keep an eye on armor levels either by checking inventory often or looking at the armor bar on the lower right portion of the screen (where hunger is in vanilla Minecraft). Combat Repairing * Repairing in the heat of battle can be tough and risky, leaving you exposed. One of the best ways to achieve repairs is to have the Momentum upgrade. This upgrade gives absorption hearts for killing a monster. Once you have killed a monster and/or PROC'd the others nearby, quickly take off and repair your armor. These extra hearts work like a cushion, and can keep you safe while repairing on the front lines. You can also perform a similar action using Nisovin's Super Shield; this is far easier because of the sheer amount of hearts it gives. This method can be taken to the next level by getting a PROC, quickly taking off a piece of armor, repairing it, and putting it back on before the PROC has ended thus allowing you to continue the PROC (This particular method is not recommended unless you are a very experienced dwarf). Do note that this does not come without risks. When you have an armor piece off you will not gain Momentum heart from procing so be careful while maintaining the proc and repairing. Also note that repairing is a "left-click to cast spell" casting a left-click spell will delay all other left-click spells for a short time which may cause your death when trying to heal. Looking at a block (such as the floor) will negate this universal cooldown. PROC With Light * When PROCing, dwarves are not '''immune to darkness, and it can be hard to see where mobs are going. One of the best ways to combat this is by torch switching during a PROC. It can be tough to switch to a torch or other item and still maintain a PROC, so this may take a little practice to get. As long as a dwarf has held a torch at least once during a PROC, they will be immune to darkness for as long as their PROC lasts. If a dwarf loses the PROC, they will have to take out a torch again the next time they PROC to see. * Be aware that even though the dwarf may see, there may not actually be light anywhere near the dwarf. A fully upgraded player zombie, wolverine, or digging zombie will have strength buffs in the dark and can still cause absorption hearts to disappear fairly quickly. Additionally, when the PROC ends, those same monsters may all attack the now blind dwarf and end their life easily. '''Movement * When moving in vanilla Minecraft, sprinting and jumping covers more ground than sprinting alone. This is true about all aspects of DvZ besides PROCing, or during Bruce's Horn of the Buffalo. Both of these examples give a speed buff to the dwarves. Though sprint-jumping is faster without a speed buff, sprinting alone is faster with a speed buff active. During a PROC, it is best not to jump and run but to instead keep running as jumping can break a dwarf's momentum and cause the loss of a PROC. Jumping also makes a dwarf more prone to being blasted far away by a creeper mid-PROC. Category:Tutorials